Kittens for me!

Vhanja wrote:

This thread seemed appropriate to share my thoughts on Martin Freeman.



No, he doesn't have the same charisma, baritone voice and haughty good-looks as Benedict. But he has something else. There are a lot of great actors out there, but when I see Martin Freeman, I don't think "wow, that's great acting." I think "wow, that feels real." 

He is so grounded, so real in everything he portrays, and that is a quality I have seen in very few actors, especially not to the level he can do it.

Not to mention his reactions and facial expressions! They are half the show, the man is a God of expressions! 

So yes, color me impressed. 

Also, he is darn adorable. 

That is how I feel about Martin too!!
I first saw him in Love actually 10 years ago and found him kind cute and then the next role I saw him in had been  Dr. Watson and I was quite impressed with his acting. I think the show works so splendidly because of the chemistry and dynamics between BC and MF and I like them equally.
I now have watched The Office, The Hobbits 1 and 2, Confetti and Nativity and I liked him in all those series/films. I think he brings a depth and authenticity even to the lighest comedy and unidimensional characters. But I have to say he impressed me the most live on stage as Richard III, such a phenomenal performance in a fantastic ensemble and an outstanding staging.
And when I met him very briefly afterwards he was so kind, polite and genuinely nice he won me over for a lifetime!
 

Can I just tell you guys how much I love Moftiss on the commentary tracks for the S3? Their praise of Martin's acting in the whole reunion scene. And how toe-curlingly awesome it was to hear they honest-to-God laughing again and again at Martin's expressions throughout the Sherlock/Janine-scene in TLV. It made me so happy to hear their appreciation of Martin again and again, particular for the same scenes I've noticed myself.

Well, I don't love TEH, but Martin's facial expressions can't be praised enough, he has a talent there which few actors have.
He's not an actor to fill the big screen, I think, but very very strong in close ups and telling whole stories with micro expressions. Eyes, mouth, little head twists.... And of course one of his strongest weapons: the smile! Have I ever mentioned that I love this smile? 
I would love if he got a chance to explore his dark sides a bit more, a bit like in Fargo.

I'm posting this here because I don't know where else to post it. Please keep in mind that this post comes from a deep love for Martin and all his work.

Martin is known for his sassiness. Which does include being sassy towards Ben. Because when they started Sherlock, Martin was the one who was already known. At least for me, and probably a few others. I had never heard of Ben, but knew about Martin. He was already a household name by the time Ben reached his fame.

And them shit hits the fan. Ben becomes this huge, enormous star "over night", because of Sherlock and Star Trek. And "left behind" is Martin. Who is older than Ben. Who was famous before Ben. Who has a longer resume than Ben. And suddenly Ben gets all the credit, all the spotlight, and whenever Maritn is asked a question, it's about Ben.

Could that explain his "feck  Ben"-attitude in interviews? Not that he reallly has anything against Ben personally, but that he is fed up about being the underdog. He is not John Watson. When people credit his role in the Marvel universe to Ben, it's getting ridiculous. 

 

Last edited by Vhanja (August 8, 2015 11:03 pm)

I tend to agree with you, Susi. Before "Sherlock" I knew Martin from exactly two roles, "Love, Actually" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide". In both roles he did a great job, I absolutely love his Arthur Dent.
Thing is, you can't look into other people's heads. We will never know what Martin's true feelings towards Benedict and Benedict's fame are. I'm sure Martin knows that some actors attract a huge fan base while others simply don't, for different reasons. There is nothing you can do about it and I'm sure that Martin is enough of a professional to simply accept it and live with it. Maybe his sassy comments are his way of telling the media and the public that it's all fine, but that he just doesn't want to talk about Benedict but about his own work. Which is only fair.
Apart from all that, I'm sure Martin is very well aware of the fact that the media tends to come up with all kinds of bullshit all the time and that this isn't Benedict's fault.

I saw the extra material on the two first Hobbit movies earlier this year, and this amazing quote from Ian McKellen comes to mind:

"Martin Freeman’s got lots of quirks and talents, many of which are on display in the film, but his most remarkable quality as an actor is to be able—with absolute clarity—to convey that he is thinking two things at the same time and you know, as an audience, what they are. And I wasn’t the only one on the set to say to myself later, ‘I wish I could act like that.’ Martin Freeman has a pallet of subtlety, and I thought ‘this is a new sort of acting that I’ve never seen before.’”

That is a direct quote from Ian, and it made me love him even more. Because it was a great way to summarize Martin's talent, in a way.
 

Last edited by Vhanja (February 8, 2016 4:40 pm)

Love that quote.  And I know!!  Often amazed me, just watching it.  Another favorite comment from a friend about that ability-   I always got a kick out of recalling Moffat joking about Martin tweaking around with his scripts, canceling out lines and going 'No, no… I can do that with a look!'   

tonnaree wrote:

Think of the reunion scene in TEH.  A dozen emotions go across Martin's face in a moment and he barely moves a muscle.

I know, my favorite scene in the series, acting-wise. I'm in awe everytime I watch it.

There's no "dreams about Martin" thread, so I thought I'd post this here.

I met Martin Freeman in my dreams last night! I wish I could remember more details... But I remember spotting him, and going up to him and saying "Hi", and feeling really nervous and awkward but then Martin was just lovely and we ended up have a wonderful conversation. He was so real, and so Martin. Like I was meeting a real person. Aargh, I wish I could have recorded this dream somehow! (and why haven't I had any almost-lucid dreams about Benedict?!)

Last edited by ukaunz (February 10, 2016 3:26 am)